Kokai Meister Adventures: 2008.12. - All About Rhythm / Ballet & Gymnastics

Winter has turned the land white.

Annie captured it on a photograph.

For the rest of this month she had to concentrate on ballet, preparing for a series of stage performances showing an extended / alternative version of The Little Mermaid. Precisely 10 shows over two long weekends!

This is how the Little Ballerina's typical day looked like:

Rise and shine!

Let's have some vitamins for breakfast!

And some eggs too!

This should be enough for the whole day.

We have to make you look like a Polar Bear.

About 300 kids participated in the whole show which lasted 2 and a half hours.

The highlight for Annie and many of the children was still not being on stage but the waiting before and after their part - which they spent with free play.

Many of the older kids picked a younger one and really took care of them.
And so Annie and Viktoria became really good friends.

Waiting backstage was not boring either. It was a chance to see the other actors close-up. This lady played the Queen of the Sea.

And here they met (again) the King of the Sea.

The dance of these kids Annie and the other bears had to enjoy through the openings of the curtains from stage because they were next.

And here they are. According to their routine the bears sat, lied down or rolled on the stage which looked really cute but it was almost impossible to make spectacular pictures of them.

Nevertheless, it was a great experience.
It brought the kids within their own ballet groups and across other groups together.
It showed the younger ones what is possible to achieve and become as they get older and practise harder.

It gave them an opportunity to be recognised and appreciated for what they have been doing for months.

And they could also see during the numerous recitals what it takes to bring together a professional performance - how to coordinate lights, music, colors of costumes and stage decoration, how to ensure that everybody takes his or her tiny part serious to contribute to the overall outcome.

Annie surely did that - she didn't even let a bunch of streptokokken stop her from performing for the audience - she went on with the help of antibiotics - and some sushi.

In fact, there was one more event Julia and Annie were part of - their first gymnastics tournament. Here are some of the shots we took with the camera: